It’s been a while since I've posted a report up so here’s a lesser visited site on the Scottish hospital circuit…
The Nordrach on Dee Hospital was built in 1899 and opened a year later. Banchory’s own Dr David Lawson had visited the Bavarian town of Nordrach with a view to emulating the success of Otto Walther, whose pioneering treatment of infectious diseases relied predominantly on giving the patient complete rest and fresh air until fever subsided.
Banchory was considered a suitable location for this, Scotland’s first sanatorium, owing to its anomalous weather patterns of low rainfall and high sunshine – a characteristic that became evident as we drove through Aberdeenshire under deep blue skies and temperatures of 23 degrees not befitting the early April date.
On arrival, after largely ignoring some unremarkable ancillary buildings in the grounds, we arrived. Three storeys of timber-clad sanatorium, topped with a saddleback roof and extending outwards from a five storey central granite tower, its continental influences heavily apparent. You can certainly see why it was Category A listed back in 1998, and why Griff Rhys Jones and his team were so keen to save it on the BBC’s ‘Restoration’ a few years later.
By 1928 the sanatorium had closed, reopening in 1934 as the Glen o’Dee Hotel – the second chapter in a chequered history. In 1941 it was requisitioned by the army, and passed to the Red Cross in 1945, once again for its intended use as a Tuberculosis hospital. In 1955 it was handed to the NHS and by 1960 it became a convalescent home. In 1989, shortly before being designated for use of elderly patients, the Grampian Health Board applied for permission to demolish much of it citing structural problems. The balconies were rotten and the second floor no longer in use, but this was only the first of a succession of rejected applications. After it was fully vacated in 1994, applications came and went, with permission finally being granted in 2007 to demolish and rebuild the wooden structure around the retained granite tower. The work however has yet to start.
There was more to see here than I was expecting…
In the kitchens there were some hygiene pledges…
The dining hall…
And from there you can get to an additional wing on the frontage: the recreation club…
Up the stairs there were plenty of rooms like this…
And then there was a water tower to climb…
… and a look down onto the recreation club…
… and a pretty sound roof space…
So finally a side shot that shows how ramshackle this building has become, but it seems to be in far better condition that its stone counterparts. Hopefully it can be saved and reused…
Worth taking a detour if ever you’re in Aberdeenshire.
Thanks for stopping by
The Nordrach on Dee Hospital was built in 1899 and opened a year later. Banchory’s own Dr David Lawson had visited the Bavarian town of Nordrach with a view to emulating the success of Otto Walther, whose pioneering treatment of infectious diseases relied predominantly on giving the patient complete rest and fresh air until fever subsided.
Banchory was considered a suitable location for this, Scotland’s first sanatorium, owing to its anomalous weather patterns of low rainfall and high sunshine – a characteristic that became evident as we drove through Aberdeenshire under deep blue skies and temperatures of 23 degrees not befitting the early April date.
On arrival, after largely ignoring some unremarkable ancillary buildings in the grounds, we arrived. Three storeys of timber-clad sanatorium, topped with a saddleback roof and extending outwards from a five storey central granite tower, its continental influences heavily apparent. You can certainly see why it was Category A listed back in 1998, and why Griff Rhys Jones and his team were so keen to save it on the BBC’s ‘Restoration’ a few years later.
By 1928 the sanatorium had closed, reopening in 1934 as the Glen o’Dee Hotel – the second chapter in a chequered history. In 1941 it was requisitioned by the army, and passed to the Red Cross in 1945, once again for its intended use as a Tuberculosis hospital. In 1955 it was handed to the NHS and by 1960 it became a convalescent home. In 1989, shortly before being designated for use of elderly patients, the Grampian Health Board applied for permission to demolish much of it citing structural problems. The balconies were rotten and the second floor no longer in use, but this was only the first of a succession of rejected applications. After it was fully vacated in 1994, applications came and went, with permission finally being granted in 2007 to demolish and rebuild the wooden structure around the retained granite tower. The work however has yet to start.
There was more to see here than I was expecting…
In the kitchens there were some hygiene pledges…
The dining hall…
And from there you can get to an additional wing on the frontage: the recreation club…
Up the stairs there were plenty of rooms like this…
And then there was a water tower to climb…
… and a look down onto the recreation club…
… and a pretty sound roof space…
So finally a side shot that shows how ramshackle this building has become, but it seems to be in far better condition that its stone counterparts. Hopefully it can be saved and reused…
Worth taking a detour if ever you’re in Aberdeenshire.
Thanks for stopping by
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Not explored much yet this year... hopefully it'll pick up a bit!
